Going Clockwise
by useless-empty-brain
Summary: A pillow-fight gone wrong ends up with a broken time-turner and sends five Slytherins from 1974 towards 1993. It would have been fine but they had no way of going back. Secondly, a murderer was on the loose - it's not quite safe for children. (I'll never be satisfied with the summary, will I?) (Also on AO3)
1. Mishap

**AN:** When I say I'm rewriting this, I really mean I'm **rewriting** this. Every. Chapter. I have no excuse for being absent for... a year? Nearly two years. Oh boy I'm sorry but I am amazed at those who still stayed regardless, like, wow. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

After rummaging through her trunk, Narcissa stuck the golden contraption into her pockets and dashed towards the common room, slamming the door behind her and ignoring the cries of dissent from her roommates who were trying to sleep and passing Malfoy - who opted to abandon his plan to retreat to his room and follow her.

She found the person she was looking for sitting on the couch positioned near the fireplace and he wasn't alone. Her cousin had a book on his lap, one she recognized to be one of the fifth year students' required textbooks, and seated beside him was Snape. They were talking animatedly but stopped the moment they spotted her ten feet away, and never before had Narcissa felt so much like an intruder.

 _"Snape?"_ she heard Malfoy say behind her, voice full of strange disgust - strange because Narcissa had nothing against Snape, she didn't know why it seemed like everyone else in Hogwarts had an issue with him, only finding another exception with the mudblood, Lily Evans - and it made annoyance flare within her. Malfoy either didn't notice her roll her eyes or he's deliberately being a headache. "What do you want with Snape? I think your attentions are much better off elsewhere."

"Yes, they're much better off with my cousin. And Snape."

Then Narcissa pretended he wasn't there and breached the distance between her and Regulus, sitting on the couch across her cousin. Malfoy made an attempt to sit beside her but she glared at the blonde who had been a thorn in her side since they were introduced to each other when they were toddlers.

 _"He's a nice young man, Narcissa."_

 _"He'd be a good husband for you."_

Narcissa tried not to visibly shudder at the memory of her parents' conversation a few months ago at the beginning of summer. And it wasn't their first conversation with that topic either. She's lost count by then. Sometimes she wondered why it seemed as if everything around her was stuck in the 1800s.

Thankfully, it seemed Malfoy somehow got some tact, noticed her agitation, and sat next to Regulus instead. Narcissa caught the beginnings of a smile on her cousin's face and her mood began to brighten once again, also reminding her why she was there in the first place-

"Reg, Snape, do you know what a time-turner is?"

Regulus nodded and Snape replied, "It's a timepiece with a charm encased in it and as the name implies, it reverses time." Regulus gave her a quizzical look. "Why do you ask, Cissa?"

Narcissa stuck her hand in her pocket and grasped the chain. "Well, you do know how I'm taking more lessons than everyone else, right?"

"No." said Snape at the same time Regulus said, "Yes, you talked about it when we went to visit your family during summer."

"And during dinner earlier," Malfoy added, "How do you even plan on doing that?"

Narcissa smiled, "Mother lent me one of the family time-turners so I can attend all my classes. Ancient Runes occurs at the same time Care for Magical Creatures does," she held her hand out, showing the golden timepiece in question. "With this, I can go and attend both classes and also weave through others which may happen at same hours. Speaking of which, I should really check my schedule."

"Oh." Regulus and Snape chimed.

"I suppose you have a goal of being the top student yet again?"

"Of course!" she placed the necklace around her neck, feeling the cool sensation of it on her skin. And not just that, she can actually attend the classes that she wanted to attend, not just the classes her family wanted her to attend. Not that she hates those classes and would rather not touch the subjects with a ten foot pole, it's just that only the part of her that wants to please her parents wants to attend those classes while the other part wants to attend Care of Magical Creatures.

She's basically halved. It's not a pretty feeling.

"Well, well, well. Little Cissy's getting ambitious! Hey now, didn't mother say that you're not allowed to brag around the whole house?"

"Good evening, Bellatrix," Regulus said dryly at the same time Malfoy groaned, "Oh no, it's her."

Narcissa felt… something _awful_ bubbling up in the pits of her stomach which she tried to ignore. It was definitely not rage, hatred, envy, among other things. It was annoyance, she told herself. Simply annoyance and not one of the factors that may someday cause her to raise her wand and strike her sister down.

Calm down.

"What do you want, sister?" she looked up. Bellatrix looked lovely but also manic at the same time. Her curls weren't pinned up and combined with the golden hues of the fire reflected in her eyes, she looked like the picture-perfect crazy person. Bella smiled.

"I want to know why my dear little sister is preaching about mommy's trinket," Narcissa caught the flash of emotion in her sister's eyes. It was strange, something she couldn't identify, and it made her wonder just how good she truly was at reading people. Probably not that good.

Bella paced a few moments before sitting down on the armrest of the couch Narcissa sat on. "Mother told you not to tell anyone."

"And I'm not telling anyone," Narcissa retorted, "I'm telling _our cousin_ , his friend, and Malfoy. I told Regulus because unbeknownst to you-"

"I can believe you said _unbeknownst_ like an old person-"

"Mother actually allowed me to tell 'our most esteemed cousin and even allowed me to lend it to him, should the need arise'. Mother's words, not mine," Regulus opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off, "and no, Regulus, I do not know why mother thinks you'll need the time-turner." Regulus closed his mouth. "And another thing, I told Snape because he's already here and it would be rude to make him leave - unlike someone, I have manners." Narcissa shrugged, "Malfoy's himself, he's nosy-"

 _"Hey."_

Narcissa grinned, "He's bound to know sooner or later. And besides, it's not like they'll say anything."

"We could, though." Malfoy protested.

"But you won't, you love me." She teased, and that made Malfoy grow redder than a tomato.

Regulus and Snape snickered, Narcissa snorted and even Bella let out a small bark of laughter. It eased the atmosphere of the room and Bella slid off the armrest to sit next to Narcissa, leaning her head on the smaller girl's shoulder, ignoring her comments of "Bella, you're heavy!" It was as if a moment ago Bella wasn't poised like a lioness and Narcissa wasn't contemplating future scenes in which she _disposes of_ her older sister.

She's not a stranger to Malfoy's feelings regarding her. But it's just an infatuation caused by her parents' little comments about how cute they'd be together and it's nothing serious, so Narcissa refused to feel bad about teasing him. All the more, she refuses to feel bad about it when it made it so much easier to breathe. That was becoming more and more of a rarity these days.

Narcissa was brought out of her musings when Malfoy, still red as a tomato, grabbed one of the couch's pillows and threw it as response. It hit her sister square in the face.

"Oh no."

And so it goes- Bella retaliated by launching the same pillow back. But her aim was off and it hit Snape instead. Narcissa watched Regulus sigh and mutter "Children, _please_ ,". It was admittedly nice, the way the common room became filled with muffled laughter, awful attempts at being quiet. Somewhere in the boys' dormitories, someone shouted 'shut it' but otherwise did nothing to stop them from being loud way past bedtime.

It was _fun_ , the sort of feeling she never felt back home because _someone_ couldn't stop going to her meetings to actually spend time with her sisters. And when she did, it somehow always ended with someone feeling inferior, either her or Andromeda.

...And then it ended.

Bella tripped over a discarded pillow and hit the floor with a resounding thud. Malfoy, Regulus, and Snape looked alarmed for the smallest moments before looking confused. Narcissa followed his eyes and saw what he was looking at. The awful feeling built up again, threatening to swallow her whole as she looked at the small pieces of glass that spilled from her sister's pocket and the golden sand that accompanied it.

"Really, Bella?"

Her sister had the grace to look apologetic before light engulfed them.


	2. Perception

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, I never will own this wonderful series of books and characters.

A/N: I am well aware of the age gaps between my chosen characters. This is an AU then, where I mucked up with their ages. Oh boy my characterization is off, it's been so long, I need to pick up my books again and _read_.

Anyway, enjoy and tell me what you think, if you like.

* * *

When the light faded, Narcissa strode up to Bellatrix and screamed in her face, "Seriously? _Seriously?!_ I can't believe you!"

Bellatrix quickly put her hand up, brows knit together in confusion, "What? What are you mad at me for?" Realization dawned on her a moment later, "I didn't take it from you! I had my own, okay? Look! It's still around your neck."

Hearing this, Narcissa felt around her neck, feeling the cold chain of the time-turner and its pendant, still intact and humming with magic. The horrid feeling that encouraged her to scream at Bellatrix died down, replaced by confusion and a tinge of shame. "What? Mother gave you one as well?"

There was a pause, "Yes," and a moment later, Bellatrix stood up and asked, "Snape? Malfoy? What's the matter?"

"Regulus isn't waking up," Snape whispered, voice small and, if Narcissa listened enough, she could hear a tremor in it. She looked to see her cousin passed out on the floor. "What did you do?" Malfoy asked and Snape hissed, "I didn't do anything!"

"Alright, stop it," The eldest of them all cut in. Having gained their attention, she gestured to their surroundings, "Look around. Where are we?"

It was the common room. Except it wasn't at the same time. The design of the lanterns were different, the engravings looking older somehow. The carpets had silver borders, which Bellatrix recognized and pointed out as runes strung together. The couches were different, grander, newer. And the fire was nearly out.

"How long were we out?" Narcissa asked while a sinking feeling formed in the pit of her stomach, gnawing at her uncomfortably. "'Out'? The light persisted for just a second... right?"

And that was the question, wasn't it? But they don't remember passing out - and only Regulus was passed out at the moment - and all of them agree it lasted for just one second. One second. It couldn't have been enough time for the fire to die out by the time the surroundings dimmed, and certainly they would have noticed if new chairs and carpets were placed around them even in the bright light.

 _Unless, somehow reality became distorted and we've been launched in an alternate world_. That's ridiculous.

With a horrified look on his face, Malfoy muttered, "What if we travelled through t-"

"No!" "That's dumb, _no!_ " Snape and Narcissa barked at the same time with Snape emphasizing his point by launching the nearest object towards his fellow Slytherin. It was a pillow. It vaguely, horrifyingly reminded Narcissa of a scene the pillow fight scene that took place not too long ago - _hahaha -_ and then turned into absolute chaos.

"Enough! We can talk about this later. Right now," Bella placed one arm under Regulus' leg and another under his shoulders, lifting him up. She frowned "We need to get Regulus to the hospital wing."

"He'll wake up- don't you think we have more pressing matters here?" Malfoy flailed, "Like, where we are? _When_ we are- Severus Snape if you _dare_ chuck that pillow at me I will hex you until you're senseless! Face it, we know what happened."

"It's impossible." Snape argued, green and silver pillow still clutched in one pale hand, ready to be thrown at the blonde boy. "It's _magic_." Malfoy shot back.

"Can you two stop?" Bellatrix narrowed her eyes, "Or I'll make sure you won't be able to _think_ about what happened!"

Malfoy and Snape promptly shut up and no one disagreed further.

They exited the common room as quietly as possible, Malfoy casting _lumos_ to light up the way. It wasn't an easy feat. For one, they couldn't make it up to one of the upper floors without bickering and Bellatrix resorting to threats once again. To Narcissa, it was rather uncommon, as she always hears Bella make threats every time, at home and at Hogwarts. Perhaps she should get herself treated for that, too. It really says something when her first reaction to threats on her life is to sigh in exasperation and not in fear. Bellatrix is fully capable of carrying through.

Of course, with the amount of noise they were making every five minutes, it wasn't long before they were caught. They were just a few more steps away from the hospital wing when one painting complained of the light coming from Malfoy's wand. Loudly, too, and that attracted the attention of one adult they have never seen before, who Narcissa mentally dubbed as tall, dark, and petrifying. It's a very on point observation, she noted, as their group literally froze in their tracks and stared at the man clothed in black robes, with dark hair and harsh eyes.

\- . -

Severus liked to think he knew all students in his hosue. He should. When they are sorted in their first year, he personally checks the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of his students. A job for the matron, of course, but there's really nothing wrong with making sure this student wasn't abused in her home, or this student was blind in one eye, or this one was being starved and other things. He may be strict or the devil's incarnate as some other students say, but at least he was a good head.

So imagine his surprise when he stumbled upon a group of Slytherins walking through the corridors way past curfew. And they were Slytherins whose faces he hasn't seen in his house before. Or, he had, but it was long ago, and magic may have made many things possible but certainly there were laws -against... whatever this was.

Perhaps this is a trick.

"You have either failed momentously with your polyjuice potion or somehow your intention was to mimic the form of my," he paused and scrutinized the black haired boy trailing at the very back of the group. It's a familiar sight, he used to stand at the back, too. As if he wasn't quite a part of it all. But anyway, there was no bitterness in the boy's eyes yet, "thirteen year old self, though I doubt that is in any way benificial to you. If you are trying to get me to deduct points from my house, you may need to try harder."

The Slytherins - Slytherins in disguise? - said nothing. They merely looked at each other, looked at the boy standing far behind, then at the girl who seemed the eldest - and then he noticed another boy in her arms. "What happened?"

"We don't know," one of them - he refused to call him Malfoy. Lucius was in holiday with Narcissa in Russia - answered. "Maybe he hit his head?"

"We were going to the hospital wing to get this sorted out, so if you don't mind-" the eldest girl's shock seemed to have worn off as she tried to bypass him. He cut her off, "Oh, but I _do_ mind. You're coming with me to the headmaster's office."

"Now is not the time-"

"First of all, who do you think you are-"

"Can't we just go-"

"You violated school rules, are impersonating a professor," a younger version, but it still is impersonation, "Among many things. You are coming with me."

\- . -

Narcissa had it drilled into her mind that Albus Dumbledore was an old fool. Now she thinks he's an older fool.

The slimy git forcefully dragged them towards the headmaster's office. He disarmed them efficiently the moment Malfoy and Snape reached for their wands. She surrendered after that, going so far as to hand over her and Bellatrix's wand - she grabbed her sister's wand easily enough, Bella couldn't do anything to stop her with her hands occupied. Her sister shot her a Look but said nothing as they resigned themselves to their fate.

While Dumbledore took his time to look them over, she briefly wondered which one of them became a professor. _Maybe it's Snape. Maybe that person_ is _Snape?_

Soon Dumbledore leaned back in his seat and said, "I imagined this sort of behavior coming from Mr. Potter," he looked at them, and Narcissa found herself entranced when the old professor looked at her, "But really now. Mr. Malfoy, Misses Black, Mr. Snape- I expected more from you. And perhaps Mr. Black was at the wrong place at the wrong time? I can't imagine him being a willing participant in all this."

The man from before - professor, the old fool called him a professor - sputtered but Dumbledore ignored him, so Narcissa ignored him, too.

"Maybe you shouldn't have expected anything then," Bellatrix shot back with one of her all-teeth smiles and Narcissa noticed the tension in her shoulders loosen.

"To be fair, none of us were willing participants," Malfoy argued, "It was an accident."

"Oh?" The headmaster asked, "What happened, then?"

"We were... playing," Malfoy said it with such reluctance, "Throwing pillows at each other in the common room. Bellatrix tripped and she had - a time-turner? Was that what it was?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Bellatrix had one in her pocket and it broke when she fell. One flash of light later and we're here."

Once again, they were scrutinized by the headmaster for a moment before he asked, "So, what do you think _happened?_ "

"We've gone insane." Snape replied. "We travelled through time." Malfoy said in a loud voice. Narcissa couldn't help but laugh, "Oh but what if we just got put in a sleep and we're all dreaming while our bodies strive to keep themself alive?"

No one quite knew what to say to that.

The awkward moment faded a minute later. "Professor, please do not tell me you believe them." said the slimy git.

"Not quite yet, Professor Snape-"

"-wait, what?" "Oh, that's _you_?!" "No, no, we've gone insane, crazy, _bonkers_ -"

Dumbledore only smiled and reached for something in his pocket, "-I need to verify their words first."

The professor - apparently Professor Snape, oh god and she's been calling him a slimy git the whole time, what happened to Snape that turned him into this? - said in an...astounded? voice, "Veritaserum."

"Uh," Malfoy piped up, "Do you just randomly carry around a vial of truth serum?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Dumbledore chuckled. A jug levitated from somewhere along with a cup and water was poured inside. Dumbledore poured three drops in, "Now, I believe Ms. Narcissa Black is the most fit for questioning."

"You're using truth serum. Really," Narcissa heard Bellatrix say, her sister's voice somewhat muted by the warning bells ringing in Narcissa's head, "Isn't that partial to what the drinker's perception of reality is?" Bellatrix asked to which the headmaster replied, "Yes, that is why I ask your sister."

She doesn't want to. She guards her truths and covers them up with lies. Her mother said that being under the potion's influence is like being bared. "If you do not want to, Ms. Black, we can ask Mr. Malfoy to do so. But I promise we will ask only the necessary truths."

Well, what reason could he have to ask anything else? So, "Alright. I'll do it."

She downed the drink and found that tge potion had no taste. She didn't feel any different either, until the first question was asked and she felt the need to answer accordingly, truths and only truths.

"What is your name?"

"Narcissa Black."

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"What year is it?"

"1974." The headmaster smiled as if he got exactly what he wanted.

The list of questions went on. Who were her parents, what year was she in, what house did she belong to, until it all ended with, "What happened?"

And the answer is based on the drinker's perception so what did _she_ think happened? Had they gone insane, like Snape insists? Does she truly believe that this is all a dream brought on by an ill body? Or does she believe Malfoy?

It took her a moment before she finally admitted, "Time. Somehow, we travelled through time."

She could have sworn she saw a twinkle in his eye when he said, "Welcome to Hogwarts, 1993."


	3. Arrangements

**A/N** : Age guides for new readers who weren't here for this mess two years ago.

Narcissa, Severus, Lucius - 13

Bellatrix - 17

Regulus - 12

Yes, yes, the ages are skewed. And another thing - I do not own Harry Potter or the characters. They belong to the wonderful JK Rowling. Also I think I will never be satisfied with this story's summary.

 **\- w -**

"I am impressed, Miss Black," Dumbledore said once the older Snape and the younger four unfortunate students launched through time left to go to the infirmary. Bellatrix noted how the air grew increasingly heavier the moment she was left alone with the headmaster. The lights which seemed to be everywhere before dimmed, giving the office an eerie, unwelcoming feeling.

Knowing herself - which she rarely does these days - it's probably because she isn't. "Your capability to put everyone around you in harms' way is astounding."

Bellatrix said nothing for a while because, honestly, what could she possibly say in response? She shoved her hand into the pockets of her robes, feeling the shattered pieces of glass that remained and the cold chain accompanying it. After what felt like an eternity, she met Dumbledore's eyes with a smile too innocent and out of place. "Yes, don't you know that putting people in danger is one of my best skills?"

\- . -

Narcissa found herself staring at an unfamiliar white ceiling. She wasn't in her quarters - the air didn't smell like butterscotch and roses. An odd combination but one she grew rather fond of after three years. What was in the air was the obnoxious smell of Malfoy's perfumes. That didn't make much sense. Was Malfoy nearby?

It took a minute more before her sleep-muddled brain suggested she get up. What she saw was the strange sight of Malfoy and Snape conversing in hushed tones. She was quite assured by the narcissist that he was very capable of conversing with the half-blood in volumes 3/10 but she never quite believed him until now. She found her sister asleep on the bed next to the one she was on while a wide awake Regulus sat by the bedside and stared blankly out the window.

Malfoy was the one that noticed her first, "Good morning, Narcissa." He said. Snape murmured his own greetings which she replied in the most pleasant tones she could manage. "What time is it?" she asked, noticing how it was slightly dark outside. It wasn't quite nighttime - perhaps it was after the sunset or before the sun rises?

"It's six in the morning," Snape replied. "It's been roughly seven hours since we arrived."

"Arrived..." she murmured and then it struck her. Memories of the previous night became clearer. The mishap, the meeting with the headmaster and the battier Professor Snape. "Oh. It hadn't been a vivid dream, then."

"Sadly, no." the black-haired boy shook his head. "It's all very real."

"Hm." she mused, "You seem to have come to terms with what happened. And by that, I mean the 'time travel' - funny little fictional subjects in muggle books which aren't so fictional after all."

Snape shrugged a little helplessly, "After I was smacked with a book and reminded constantly half an hour ago that magic is generally thought to be unreal by many of the populace of the world, I resigned myself to the possibility that we may have somehow traveled forward in time." And judging by the pride that lit up Malfoy's face when Snape mentioned being hit with a book, Narcissa assumed he had been the one to do so to the other boy.

Narcissa got off the bed and stretched her limbs, fully waking herself up in the process. She took note of how they were the only ones in the... infirmary, right, they were in the infirmary. Older Snape brought them there to see if they were all in perfect order - completely human and with all organs functioning and accounted for. Speaking of which. She turned to her cousin. Regulus gave no indication that he heard them or that he even noticed her get up. "Regulus," she called, only to be met by silence. She tried again, "Reg!"

She succeeded the second time and the boy jolted in his seat, as if struck by lightning.

"Ah... Good morning, Cissa," Regulus said with a small smile. "Did you sleep well?"

She ignored the question by asking one of her own, "Are you alright? Have you talked to Madam Pomfrey? She usually talks to her patients about their ailments the moment they wake up, says what they should and should not do for the sake of their health, unless of course she's changed by then-" she didn't notice her voice rise in pitch and alarm until Regulus raised his hands in surrender and said, "Quiet down, Cissa. You'll wake Bellatrix."

She did as she was told despite knowing how Bellatrix slept like the dead.

"I'm fine. Madam Pomfrey says it was just due to exhaustion. Before you ask, I am aware of what happened. The... time travel," he hesitated, as if the words felt awkward and out of place. "Severus informed me of what happened during my blackout. Malfoy contributed by making puns."

"Of course he did."

The conversations dissolved and turned into companionable silence. Narcissa took it as an opportunity to think. How will they get back, she wondered. Will they ever get back? According to the books on time-turners that her mother supplied her before fully giving her the timepiece, time-turners are supposed to go _back_ in time but too much would damaged time or the witch/wizard themselves. And on another note, if the time-turners are supposed to go back, why did the accidental breaking of one time-turner send them hurling nineteen years into the future? There are too many things she doesn't know. She hated that feeling of being unaware, of not knowing.

"Bella said that the headmaster will 'send for us', didn't she?" Bellatrix had stayed a bit longer with the headmaster for to talk about living arrangements.

"Mhm."

Regulus asked, "What are we going to do now? Are we going to have to hide around unseen until we somehow find a way to go back to our own time?"

"Dumbledore said he'll possibly enlist us for class this year so that we won't miss anything." Snape said, recalling the bits of conversation he bothered listening to last night. He wondered just how the old man was going to do that. Does he intend to announce 'an accident with time has caused five students to appear here in Hogwarts' or something? He distantly recalled transfer students back in his second year, students who were running away from the rising power of the Dark Lord. Perhaps the headmaster planned to disguise them as transfer students?

\- . -

An hour or so passed before Dumbledore entered the hospital wing. They couldn't help but stare at the man. He was wearing fuschia robes. _Fuschia_ , with orange trims.

"Good morning everyone," he greeted with a smile. "I am glad to see you all awake... or perhaps not." Narcissa bound over to Bellatrix and shook her harshly. It took a long minute and a half or so before her sister began to stir. It took three seconds before Bellatrix had her wand pointed at her neck.

"Bellatrix, Professor Dumbledore is here." She said calmly, mindful of her sister's sleepy state and the headmaster's gaze. It would do no good to set Bellatrix off early in the morning nor was it good to make the headmaster witness her sister's less that stellar sides.

Fate seemed to be smiling on them that day for Bella lowered her wand and yawned out a 'good morning'.

As if nothing happened, Dumbledore continued speaking, "I have discussed the matter of your arrival with the other professors and we've concluded that your education is important and that it is better if you are all enlisted to classes. To 'keep you occupied and keep you from going mad', Minerva's words, not mine. And miss Black - Bellatrix - was supposed to take the N.E.W.T.s this year." He paused when Bellatrix cackled, "Forgive me, that's a bit of poor wording. I mean nineteen years ago."

"We cannot let you wander around just as you are, of course. Perhaps you'll be pleased to know that each of you are famous in your own ways. We have some very perceptive students in Hogwarts who will be suspicious as to why mini versions of well-known witches and wizards are running around the halls. Not to mention the fact that you all basically appeared out of thin air. Disguises and creative backstories are needed."

"Will we be constantly drinking polyjuice to disguise our appearance, then?" Malfoy asked. Dumbledore shook his head, "No, glamours are much practical. The polyjuice potion allows the drinker to _copy someone else_ 's face and body. Glamours are disguises that can exist without copying someone else's appearance. Also, it's not good for the body to constantly induce the substance."

"Oh... I see."

Dumbledore nodded. "And on another note: your houses. You'll be in Slytherin unless you wish to change that-" Narcissa interrupted, "We can _choose?_ "

"Yes. I'll only allow this for this specific cirucmstance. If you have business you wish to do in other houses, you are very free to leave Slytherin and switch to something else, but when you return to your proper time period, you will be returned to your original house."

"I'm staying in Slytherin," Snape said almost immediately. He refused to be put in another house. Hufflepuff was just _too friendly_ , Ravenclaws all seeemed to be know-it-all snobs, Gryffindors are disgustingly golden - he'd like to stay in his own house, thank you very much.

Dumbledore looked like he expected the answer. "Miss Narcissa?"

"Like Severus, I'd like to stay in Slytherin. It's the only house befitting a Black." _And I'm not quite sure how my sister will react if I choose otherwise,_ went unsaid but heard by the majority in the room.

Surprisingly enough, Bellatrix turned out to be the one to question Narcissa. "Really, sister? Mommy and daddy aren't here though. You can do whatever you want." She said, matter-of-fact.

"I personally believe switching destroys the purpose of being sorted in the first place." The younger sister argued.

"Alright, alright. Mister Malfoy?"

"Slytherin."

"Mister Black?"

"Slytherin."

Dumbledore hummed. "Miss Bellatrix?"

With a grin too wide to be completely sane, Bellatrix replied, "Gryffindor."

\- **intermission** -

"Lily? Who are you looking for?"

Lily stopped staring at the table across to cast a sheepish look towards her friend. "Are you looking for Snape?" Marlene asked, looking towards the Slytherin table. It was still early and only a few students were present. Lily recognized one of them to be Andromeda Black, the sweetest Slytherin she's met in the entirety of Hogwarts. She briefly considered asking her but also considered the hostility that would be aimed towards her by the others sitting around the table. She's learned from experience that most Slytherins don't like muggle-borns.

"Yes," Lily replied. She breathed a small sigh upon seeing Marlene's lack of a sneer when mentioning her friend. Not many people like Severus and not many endeavor to address him nicely and those who do only do so because they need something. So Lily is quite glad Marlene isn't like the majority. "He's usually one of the earliest to enter the hall. 'To avoid those miscreants' - his words, not mine."

Marlene hummed a little, "Maybe he wasn't referring to Potter's crew, then," she admitted after a while. Lily gave her a curious look. "Who referred to what?"

Marlene tapped her chin, "On my way here I passed by Evan Rosier - second year Slytherin-" how Marlene knew everyone was beyond Lily, "-and I overheard him muttering to himself. Something about 'missing' and 'worrying everyone'. I asked him 'is there someone missing?' and perhaps he was too preoccupied with his thoughts that he forgot to scowl at the passing Gryffindor- but anyway, he replied with something along the lines of 'bloody idiots who got into trouble on the second day'. I thought he was talking about those 'Marauders'. Come to think of it, why would he even look peeved if they got in trouble? From what I know about Evan-"

Lily began to tune her friend out as she contemplated what her friend said. According to one Evan Rosier, there are people missing. She looked towards the Slytherin table and found it awfully bland and spaced. As if there were pieces not in their proper places.

"Do you think..." she started, cutting Marlene off. "If he's to be believed then - do you think Sev is one of them? One of the 'idiots'."

Marlene shrugged, "I personally think Snape is quite bright under all that gloom. Also secondly, I don't think he's the sort of person to get in trouble a day after returning to school. That's more of Potter's style... But also Snape is a friend of Malfoy's, and Malfoy is a walking human disaster. A narcissistic human disaster. I think Malfoy's one of the idiots that got in trouble and that Snape's collateral damage."

"That's not a nice thought, Marlene."

"You didn't ask for a nice one, Lily - you asked what I thought." Marlene clarified, "But don't worry. My answers are just based on guesswork and supposition. Perhaps Snape is fine and probably just sick, he'll probably turn up later."

 **\- w -**

 **A/N:** I'll be honest, I'm not at all satisfied with this chapter but I've scrapped this one too many times. I know if I keep being unsatisfied I'll never move forward and be stuck here until the next two years. Yikes. So! That's that. Tell me what you think - reviews are appreciated, it gives me encouragement to write - but if you don't want to either it's fine. You can say nice things, or point out mistakes, or tell me what I can do to improve the flow.

Thank you to those who already reviewed, bless your kind hearts and in response to the majority of messages: yes, I will continue this story to the best of my ability, don't worry. And I'll see you next time.


	4. Lies and Fake Identities

"Wait, what?"

"Gryffindor, Narcissa," Bellatrix repeated slowly, as if doing so made it make more sense. "I want to be placed in Gryffindor. For the time being, that is."

"But why? I thought Blacks were all about Slytherin, blood purity, and holding up family traditions. Well, there is that prat-" at the look Regulus shot him, Severus looked away but muttered, "What? He's obnoxious and cruel and you know it, Black, better than I do, too."

"...Pushing the drama in aisle Black aside, Snape has a point. What about your family's values, Bella? Are you so eager to toss that aside?" Lucius asked. If Andromeda Black were here, he was sure she'd be the one to swap Slytherin for another house. Ever since the middle Black sister became friends with that mud-blood Hufflepuff, Eddie Tonks or something, she became less and less intolerant of those of lower blood and more and more rebellious against the traditions of old pure-blood families. Specifically, the traditions of The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.

"Of course not," Bellatrix replied, "I'd never toss my values aside. I'm swapping houses, not giving myself up for adoption and claiming I love muggles and the like- look," she pinched the bridge of her nose, "It's- I just want to see what Gryffindor looks like."

"There's nothing _just_ about this- _what would mother say, this is shameful-_ "

"She'd say you're starting to sound just like her, Cissy! You're beginning to sound like Aunt Walburga, too!"

There was a knock on the door. Older Snape walked in and strode towards the headmaster who, Bellatrix noted, looked quite pained after listening to their conversation.

Narcissa caught the older Snape's hateful glare, looked towards the younger one who deliberately stared at the floor, and wondered what could have happened to make him look so bitter. The Snape she knew - although not very well, she'll admit - was timid, keeps to himself so often that Slytherins named an area in the common room 'Snape's spot' where they charmed it so that Snape could study in peace without having to go back to his dorm and suffer through Malfoy's speeches about his beauty, and when angered was hateful but bottles his rage at best and petrifies people at worst. The Snape she knew was awkward with a few loose morals - she really isn't in a place to talk about morals, she's a _Black_ for Merlin's sake - but she can't see him turning _old_ and _bitter_ and _sadistic_. What happened to him?

Older Snape drawled, "Their supplies have arrived and I've seen to it that they were placed in their respective houses."

Dumbledore nodded, "Thank you, professor. Although, Miss Bellatrix's items need to be moved to Gryffindor," the shock was apparent even if the older Snape tried to hide it, Narcissa saw it in the slight widening of his eyes, "Quite a surprise, I know."

"Well then," Older Snape murmured after a while. "Shall we get started?"

"Started with what?" Lucius asked, a bit of worry in his tone.

"Putting on glamours," Older Snape clarified, "Keep up, Mr. Malfoy."

 _Prick_.

An hour and multiple wand-waving later, gone was Bellatrix's wild black hair. In its place was bright red hair, not any less wilder but combined with her new blue eyes, she looked like a Weasley. "You'll fit right in Gryffindor," the older Snape said, a small, smug smile on his lips at the way Bellatrix frowned in front of the mirror. Her skin was a shade darker and covered in freckles, like stars dancing around her skin. Her uniform became highlighted with Gryffindor's house colors - red and gold. Narcissa, unlike her sister, had her hair turned black, like coal. Her eyes narrowed and blue turned into dark brown. She became a bit paler - if that's possible, she already was white as she was - and she gained a little more flesh.

Regulus wasn't changed much at all. He kept the color of his hair, his unique grey eyes, and his pale skin. What changed was the length of his hair - it was longer, falling to his shoulders. He found it strange - wouldn't people recognize him like this? But neither Dumbledore nor the older Snape gave a clear answer. "No one will associate you with, well, the you of this time." Dumbledore commented, vague as ever. Lucius had his hair cropped short despite his protests - "It's still there, Mr. Malfoy, you and other people just won't see it with the glamours on," - and colored brown. His grey eyes were replaced with a dull green color.

The last one to have his appearance altered was the younger Snape. His thin frame was disguised to look healthier, he gained a bit more color, and his limp black hair was shifted to brown, and it was shorter and thicker. His eyes kept their color, but they were rounder than before, making him look younger, innocent and relatively harmless.

"You are Isabella Larson," the headmaster told Bellatrix, "You've been quite ill when you were a child, so you weren't able to attend Hogwarts and instead you were provided with tutors by your parents. You enrolled in Hogwarts for your seventh year to take your N.E.W.T.s." then he turned to Narcissa, "You are Natalie Larson. You and Ms. Isabella are sisters, although you resemble your mother while your sister resembles your father. You spent the last two years in Beauxbatons but transferred to Hogwarts to guard your cousin's health." The headmaster paused, "If memory serves me right, you are quite fluent in French, yes?"

Narcissa nodded. "Yes, I am." Turning to look at her sister - and wasn't that strange? She wasn't used to seeing Bellatrix sporting such bright hair - she said, "Looks like I'll be the keeper in this time period, Bella."

Bellatrix huffed. "I don't need guarding."

Dumbledore agreed, "Yes, you don't, not really. I have no doubt that you are more than capable of protecting yourself. That hasn't changed, even now. But as Miss Larson, you do, because Miss Isabella Larson is not Miss Bellatrix Black." And that silenced Bellatrix's protests for the time being.

To Regulus, he said, "You're Mr. Leon Laurens. You're a half-blood-" Regulus gave no reaction to the statement but Bellatrix choked on air, trying to suppress a laugh, "-who was recently released from an abusive home life and finally allowed to attend Hogwarts-" Bellatrix's laugh died in her throat and this time Regulus looked towards the tiles of the floor, quick flashes of Walburga raising her sparking wand flitting through his mind. _But not at me_. _She wasn't aiming at me._ _It was never me._ "You are allowed to start your second year instead of your first year because of your natural ability with magic and your quick learning pace."

"Mr. Malfoy will now be Mr. Lucas Mason. You were born in the Philippines but your parents were British, until they established a citizenship in the country. Both of your parents are pure-blood wizards and you were receiving your education via correspondence courses over the past two years. But recently you moved to London and now you will continue your education in Hogwarts."

Lucius looked a bit unsure, "What if I'm asked to speak the country's language? I don't know how to speak..." his words drifted off as he wondered what even is the language of the country.

"You can lie," Regulus piped up. "Say that you never learned to - from what I know, the Philippines uses English, too."

"How do you know that?" Lucius asked. Regulus shrugged, "The same way I know Alexander Hamilton wrote 95 pages about his extramarital affair - I read."

He found his first year in Hogwarts a bit lonely, what with Sirius shunning him for being in Slytherin. The only people he found bearable were Narcissa - who didn't pick on him for having a Gryffindor for an older brother unlike Bellatrix, thank Morgana she eventually grew tired of doing so - and Severus - he didn't like Sirius but he made an effort to not be a prat, even if he doesn't always succeed, at least he tried - but they were a year older and their timetable was different, so most of the time he was by himself. And being alone gets quite boring. Thankfully, books exist and books don't complain or demean people's family members, so books ranging from magical to non-magical became his constant companion during first year. He found muggle history fascinating.

"Alright then."

The headmaster carried on, "Mr. Snape will be Mr. Seth Mason. You and Lucas are cousins - your fathers were brothers. Your parents died of dragon pox when you were six and you were adopted by your aunt and uncle. Like Lucas, you received your last two years of education by correspondence. You moved to London with your cousin and his family."

"Professor, if you don't mind my asking, why are our covers related?" Severus asked.

"I don't mind at all, in fact, I encourage questions so that you all may know what situation you're in," the headmaster added, "Also, it's because it makes it easier for the students to grasp why all the transfer students seem at ease with each other."

"Bonding over lies and fake identities, then," Bellatrix grinned. "That's wonderful. I can't wait for the moment this all crumbles into pieces."

"Can't you be more positive, Bellatrix?" Narcissa asked, exasperated.

"Sure. I'm positive that this will all crumble into pieces."

Before Narcissa could retort, the older Snape spoke, "Yes, well, hopefully by the time the lies are uncovered you'll be gone."

"Now, now, settle down," Dumbledore said, "We'll have to set a few rules. The forbidden forest is off limits, no wandering outside after ten, and may I just say that you can get arrested for attempted murder, so if someone _annoys_ you, it's not enough a reason to lure them to their deaths. Also, stay away from the Dementors to avoid any unfortunate events-"

"Dementors?" Regulus asked, surprised, "Why are there Dementors in Hogwarts?"

"There's been an increase in security after a prisoner escaped from Azkaban." The older Snape replied. Regulus raised an eyebrow, "No one escapes Azkaban, though."

"I admire your skepticism, Mister Black, and you're not wrong. No one ever escaped Azkaban. Until now, that is. So the Dementors serve as extra protection, though they're dangerous to the students themselves, so I advise you to stay away from them." Dumbledore explained, "Now where was I... Ah, Miss Bellatrix, your head of house is Professor McGonagall, though I am sure you already knew that. Do you know how to locate the common room?"

"Mhm. I also know the entrance is behind the Fat Lady's portrait." Bellatrix replied.

"Good. The password of the week is _Fortuna Major._ As for the rest of you, your head of house is Professor Snape." No one quite knew what to say about that. The older Snape added, "The password of the week is _desiccate_."

Narcissa blinked, "That list of rules is strangely specific. Also, is it wise to have done that? What if we decide to break into Gryffindor tower now that we know the password?"

"It pays to be specific. Secondly, whether you choose to enter the common room despite not belonging to the house is up to you. Now - that should be all," Dumbledore opened his palm and sheets of parchment were summoned, "Here are your time-tables, classes officially start this afternoon. It's currently eight in the morning, so you still have an hour and a half for breakfast, so let's all head to the Great Hall and introduce you to your fellow students."

\- . -

Breakfasts after the start-of-the-year feasts weren't as grand as the previous night's meal due to the tendency of only few students bothering to show up. Most were tired after a whole night of catching up with friends. So it was expected upon their entry in the Great Hall that only a few students were there, but all the teachers were. Upon their entry, the few students turned their heads to stare, likely wondering why the Potions professor and the headmaster had five students trailing behind them like ducklings. The headmaster walked to the front, followed by Professor Snape. The mumbling ceased at Professor Snape's trademark look of disappointment.

"Good morning everyone, I hope you had a good night's rest," a groan coming from Hufflepuff indicated that that was not the case, making the headmaster smile knowingly, "This day, I would like to bring into attention the presence of transfer students. They were unable to catch the Hogwarts Express on time and so are a day late in arriving. I hope you all treat them kindly and help them adjust to our school."

"For Gryffindor," the few inhabitants of the table sobered up quickly, "You have one new housemate. Miss Isabella Larson, please take a seat at the table on the farthest right."

Bellatrix made a show of walking with her shoulders tense and her head slightly bowed, as if she was shy and unsure of how to behave. She took a seat next to a redhead who she noticed had a Head Boy badge. The boy smiled - all prim and proper - and stuck his hand out, "Welcome to Gryffindor. My name is Percy Weasley."

 _Of course he was a Weasley, look at that hair_. "Hi. I'm Bella - Isabella Larson." she shook his hand, hoping the falter in her movements was seen as shyness and not disgust at the thought of having to shake a Weasley's hand.

"For Slytherin, you have four other housemates - perhaps some other time for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," the students in the aforementioned tables chuckled, "Miss Natalie Larson, please take a seat at the table on the farthest left."

Narcissa held her head high but made an effort to keep her eyes kind. She sat next to a girl with an unfortunate pug nose whose first sentence to her was, "Larson, huh? Are you a mudblood? I don't remember there being a Larson in the history of pure-blood families." Before Narcissa could retort, a beautiful blonde girl across her reprimanded the girl with the pug nose, "Pansy, be nice." And turning to her, the blonde girl said, "I'm sorry, Parkinson doesn't have clear priorities. My name is Daphne Greengrass, it's nice to meet you Miss Larson." the girl, Daphne, stuck her hand out and Narcissa smiled and shook it.

"Mister Lucas and Seth Mason, along with Mister Leon Laurens are also Slytherins. Slytherin house, please welcome your new housemates warmly." In response, the students seated at the table clapped and plastered smiles on their faces, regardless how tired they looked.

Lucius took a seat next to Narcissa. He noticed the look of exasperation that crossed her glamoured face and despite not being the usual face of the girl who was the target of his affections, he couldn't help but feel a little happy, knowing that no matter how ridiculous and dream-like the situation became, Narcissa would always be annoyed at him. It was a constant, no matter how negative, and it keeps the world, his sense of reality, stable a little even when it was literally falling apart and he was struggling to stay on his feet.

Severus took a seat next to Lucius and smiled as politely as he could to the current time period's Slytherins. Their house wasn't known for warmth but this welcome was warm enough, even if plastered on politeness and small talk wasn't what other houses qualified as 'warm greetings'. He looked around at new yet familiar faces and wondered who these children's parents are. He caught sight of a platinum-haired boy sitting at the far end of the table, protected by two large boys who literally screamed Crabbe and Goyle. A Malfoy? He certainly looked like one.

He felt a nudge and looked towards Regulus who sat beside him. The younger boy's eyes flickered to the platinum-haired boy and he leaned in to whisper, "He looks like Malfoy."

"I noticed that, too." Severus mumbled. After a minute of watching Lucius and Narcissa interacting with the Slytherins as if they were their own classmates from their time, Severus whispered, "I'm sorry, Regulus."

"About?"

"About what I said about your brother." He absolutely despised the older Black but strangely he couldn't bear the thought of the younger Black mad at him, and he knew Regulus still was. He knew Regulus well enough to know that the younger Black, though not prone to lashing out, had a temper that rivaled his mother's. The Incident at the end of first year was proof of it.

Regulus said nothing for a while and Severus was certain he wasn't going to say anything at all, until, "Apology accepted."

\- . -

"So you're from France?" A seventh year Gryffindor girl, who Bellatrix came to know as Jane Stones, asked, "That's cool. You sound entirely Brit though - sorry if I sound a bit, uhm, what's the word..."

"Ignorant? Racist? Stereotypical?" Bellatrix supplied. Stones clamped her mouth shut and Bellatrix rubbed her wrist, trying to look nervous and knowing she was more than convincing, "I-I'm sorry, I tend to spurt out words that are entirely not helpful-"

"Oh, no, it's okay - I'm sorry, too, I should know enough that not everyone who goes to Beauxbatons are French, uh, wow I do sound ignorant-" Stones rambled, "What's it like, by the way? Beauxbatons, I mean."

Bellatrix sighed, "I never said I went to Beauxbatons. I am from France, but I never said anything about Beauxbatons."

"Then where did you get your education?" Percy Weasley asked.

"I was tutored privately. I've been ill when I was a child and my parents weren't confident that I'd be alright in Beauxbatons so they never let me go. My sister, Natalie in Slytherin over there, went to Beauxbatons so if you'd like to know about it, it's better if you ask her." Bellatrix lied easily.

"Oh, I see," Stones nodded in understanding. "What sort of illness, though? You look perfectly healthy to me-"

"And looks don't determine everything, Jane," another Gryffindor girl, Darrel Lee, cut in.

That's easy. "It's more of a mental illness than physical, honestly," she paused to think, "Sometimes I... lose myself. As in I'll black out and when I wake up people tell me I've been acting strange and calling myself another name."

"Oh."

"Yes, but I'm trying to live with it. Natalie is here to keep an eye on me, too, as awful as it is to have my little sister be the one to take care of me." she said.

"At least your sister cares," Percy commented with a sort of disgruntled air around him. What brought about the bad mood? The mention of family, perhaps? Stones sighed, "Oh, Percy, you know your brothers only tease you out of affection."

Percy sighed, "I know, but it wouldn't kill Fred and George to stop for at least a day, will it?" As soon as the sentence was uttered, the Great Hall's doors opened and in walked two redheads - twins, Bellatrix noted - followed by a slightly shorter redhead, a girl with bushy brown hair, and a boy with a familiar bird's-nest sort of black hair and wearing ill-fitting glasses. "Aaand here they are." At Bellatrix's questioning glance, Percy elaborated, "My brothers. That's Fred," he pointed to the twin standing on the right, "And George." He pointed to the twin on the left.

Apparently hearing this, the redheads protested in sync, "Oi!"

The one on the left huffed, " _I'm_ Fred."

"And I'm George." the one on the right grumbled. _This isn't going to be easy to live with_.

"Sure you are," Percy remarked dryly with the aura of someone who's had to deal with this sort of tricks for nearly his whole life.

The twin apparently named George saw Bellatrix and said, "And who is this lovely lady?"

"Are you another distant-distant-distant cousin?" The one apparently named Fred asked, "Or not and it's surely okay to know you in the deepest sense-"

"Can you two _not_?" Percy snapped. The twins raised their hands in a 'calm down' and 'we surrender' gesture, but the looks on their faces said that they were everything but surrendering. "We were just asking," the redhead on the left said, "No need to get your wand in a twist." his twin finished with a little chuckle.

"Seriously though, who are you?" they asked in unison.

"I'm Isabella. Isabella Larson, I'm a transfer student." Bellatrix replied. "Transfer student?" the bushy haired girl asked, "I didn't know that Hogwarts accepts transfer students." then, she smiled a bit sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm Hermione Granger, welcome to Gryffindor." She gestured to the shorter - compared to the twins, but taller than her - redhead standing beside her. "And this is my friend, Ron Weasley-"

"I can introduce myself just fine, 'Mione," Ron Weasley muttered but was wholly ignored by Granger, "And Harry Potter." She gestured to the black-haired boy.

Harry Potter? James Potter's son, then. No wonder his hair was familiar. Now that she looked at him, he looked so much like James. Except his eyes were green. He probably got that from his mother and Bellatrix found herself wondering who she was. She briefly wondered how James, and in some extent, Sirius was these days. Have they finally stopped being so obnoxious? Have they finally matured? Probably, seeing as Potter has a kid who seems like a decent human being. What jobs did those brats take up? Did Sirius get to be an Auror like he wanted or did he take up the mantel as Lord Black?

 _Unlikely. He's getting more and more enamored with muggles. Regulus is most likely the current lord._

And as she shook their hands and exchanged pleasantries, she made a mental note to catch up on the past nineteen years.

\- **intermission ii** -

Andromeda felt like slamming her head on the table but held herself back, seeing Rabastan's worried glances. She would have laughed at his attempts to look unconcerned at some other time, but not right now. Nearing midnight, the whole house was woken up by a whirring noise and a flash of light that seeped underneath the spaces of the doors and were consequently alarmed. After their head of house scanned the common room for any possible danger and did a head count to make sure everyone was present and accounted for, it was discovered that her sisters were missing and, after scouring through the dorms, that their possessions went missing with them. Their trunks and trinkets were removed from their dorms. There were no clues as to where they've gone. Regulus was gone, too, along with all his things, as if he never existed. Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape haven't been seen either and her mother were sending owls nonstop, asking her where her sisters are.

She silently wished Slughorn never informed their mother. Druella Rosier Black, underneath her cold exterior, cared so much. Cared _too_ much that it felt suffocating. It's selfish of her, she knows. Her mother just wants to locate her sisters as soon to ensure their safety and here she is wishing her mother never knew. She's awful.

The school staff had been alerted and now there were Aurors investigating the case. The entire Slytherin house were aware and now keeping a lookout for their missing housemates while the rest of the students were slowly growing aware that there's something wrong, but they're not sure what.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned to see Christopher Macmillan. He pointed to the entrance of the Great Hall, at a group of four Gryffindors who just entered. "Do you think he knows?" Macmillan asked, referring to Sirius.

"Judging by the way he's so at ease, no," Andromeda replied. She couldn't help but grow a little bitter. Here she was, getting pestered endlessly by her mother, yet Sirius walked around oblivious, without a care in the world. "I think he hasn't been made aware. I think Aunt Walburga didn't say anything about the matter." Her aunt was notified, too, considering how one of her sons disappeared as well but there's been no word from her or from Uncle Orion.

But just as she was about to stand and make her way to Sirius, a screech own flew down with what Andromeda recognized as a letter from Aunt Walburga. A ripple of silence seemed to spread as the letter landed on Sirius' plate and it was obvious many expected it to be a Howler - it's all Aunt Walburga ever sent to Sirius - but were surprised to see it only _looked_ like a letter and not an actual Howler. Andromeda watched as Sirius frowned and opened the letter. She saw the Potter child lean in to see what the letter was about - no manners, honestly. She watched with a small, sick sense of satisfaction as Sirius considerably paled.

Before she even knew it, Sirius ran towards Slytherin table and was sitting in front of her, having pushed Flint aside.

"Andy," he said.

"Sirius," she replied evenly.

She had mixed feelings about her Gryffindor cousin. In one hand, she's glad to have a companion in breaking free of the family traditions and beliefs. On another hand, her cousin was an obnoxious brat who had prejudices against Slytherin, so much that he was willing to abandon his younger brother for a whole year. _We're the definition of dysfunctional._

"What's this about?" he held out the parchment. She skimmed the letter and was surprise by the amount of pleading Walburga did to _find your little brother, Sirius, please_ and the amount of civility that went into her letter. Honestly, the woman was so confusing. One time she'd be screaming at Sirius to stop being a disgrace and the other she'd be doting at him, granting every wish her children had with a flutter of her eyelashes at her husband. "What does she mean Regulus is missing?"

"It means he's missing, cousin dearest," she said, "Along with Narcissa, Bellatrix, Lucius, and Severus."

"Snivellus-" Potter had walked after his friend and was cut off by her glare, "I mean, Snape's missing, too?"

"How? What happened?" Sirius questioned.

"Wow, what a miracle, the elder Black actually gives a damn about his little brother," Barty Jr. said from one corner of the table. Having heard him, Sirius turned to the second year Slytherin, face turning into an alarming shade of red. "Look here-"

"He's right, though." Andromeda commented. "You pushed your brother away for a whole year, Sirius, nearly two years, in fact - and you ran off to the Potters during the holidays and during the majority of summer. It's a miracle you actually care that Regulus is missing." The satisfaction grew despite it stemming from the growing look of shame on Sirius' face. It was quickly replaced with anger, though, as Sirius scoffed.

"I don't. He's a little slimy snake. But mummy dearest will be mad at _me_ even though I'm not at fault." he hissed. Andromeda noticed her fellow Slytherins - mostly Narcissa's friends - scowl at Sirius.

"Well then, I don't see why you're here." she said, "If you don't really care about what happened to your baby brother then I see no point in telling you what happened. It's not like you're going to help with anything. The DMLE are already on the case." She stood up, "Good day to you, Sirius."

"Hey, wait!" Sirius grabbed her hand tightly. "Why are you being so difficult?" She said nothing. Sirius glared, "Just tell me what happened to Reggie. I need clues - I'll figure it out eventually, before the DMLE even do."

Stubborn. Proud. Andromeda crushed the increasing want to hurt her cousin. _Stop it, this isn't like you, you don't take out your frustrations on other people - that's Bellatrix._ "All we know is that last night a loud whirring sound was heard throughout the whole Slytherin common room and the dorms. It woke people up. The early few saw a bright flash of light seep through the doors and when they opened them, all there had been was blinding light. When it finally faded, and most of Slytherin house were awake, the common room was a mess and golden sand was spilled everywhere - but no one was there. It was empty and the fire had gone out."

"Golden sand..." Potter murmured and Andromeda distantly noticed how the whole hall was listening.

"After Professor Slughorn scanned for any danger and for anyone hurt, it was discovered that five Slytherins were missing. And that's my two sisters, your brother, Malfoy and Snape." she finished.

"That's it? Does anyone have any clue what could have done it?" Potter asked. Sirius was too - stunned? - to say anything.

Andromeda shook her head. "None yet, or at least, none that I've heard. If anyone's found anything, the Aurors are probably keeping the information to themselves."

Finally, Sirius breathed, "Mother's gonna kill me."

Potter frowned, "Mate, it's not your fault they went missing."

"You're right, but she's going to do it regardless. If not her then father will. They expect me to always - somehow - know what Regulus is up to or what happens to him all day and all week, as if they forget I'm in a different house altogether." Sirius sighed. Then, with sudden determination, he said, "I'm not dying any time soon. Just you wait - I'll find them before the Aurors do."

With that said, he stormed out of the Great Hall, soon followed by his other friends. Andromeda found herself dealing with the guilt for cutting at her cousin with her words and, surprisingly, a sense of security. As though she wholly believes in Sirius' words.

And, perhaps, some part of her really did.

\- . -

 **A/N** : This ended up longer than I intended, oh boy. Thank you to those who commented and I think it's not needed to be said but I'll say it anyway: Yes! I shall continue this series. Also, your reviews/comments give me motivation, so maybe drop by and tell me what you think? And on another note - I made another Tumblr blog at .com where I reblog HP stuff. Maybe drop by a message and we can talk about stuff, like how pretty Newt Scamander's eyes are.

Thank you for you patience and I will see you soon. Bye!


	5. Get Your Act Straight

Bellatrix bid goodbye to her temporary housemates as they went to their respective classes after breakfast. Slowly, the Great Hall cleared out until only few faculty members and the Slytherins out of time were left inside. Bellatrix got up from her seat and approached Narcissa. "So, what will you be doing now?"

Narcissa said, "Well I personally would have liked to follow Daphne to class. She's really nice. But we're being detained until this afternoon, so..." she trailed off, "For the first time, I don't have anything to do."

"'Daphne'? What, you made a friend already?" Bellatrix asked, Narcissa shook her head. "I wish," she said, "So, how's Gryffindor? Did you meet anyone interesting?"

Bellatrix thought of the boy with the messy hair. She also thought of the twins who irritatingly finished each other's sentences. "I met a gaggle of Weasleys." She looked at Severus, who was disdainfully looking towards the teachers' table. Suddenly, she got an idea. She held her hand out, directly in front of the younger boy's face, effectively stopping him from shooting daggers to teachers with his eyes. He raised an eyebrow and Bellatrix grinned.

"There's no need to look so glum during your first day," she said grandly. Severus said nothing, choosing to give her a confused look instead, and she continued, "I'm Isabella Larson, from France. What's your name?" she heard a snort. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Lucius grinning mischievously. Narcissa was smiling. Regulus looked exasperated but he nudged Severus and said, "No need to be rude to the lady. Say hi!"

"This is _stupid_ ," Severus hissed.

Lucius gasped, faking a horrified look, "Seth, you know we don't really believe what people say about you. You're a very smart person. You would have to be, since you're related to the fabulous me." Lucius shoved the other boy outside and shook Bellatrix's still outstretched hand, "It is such a pleasure to meet you, Miss Larson. Sorry about my brother there, he's always grumpy during the weekdays."

Severus' frown deepened. The look of exasperation on Regulus' face was replaced by sudden wariness and resignation, which eventually turned into surprise in 0.06 milliseconds. "Cousin," Severus said, eventually.

"What?" Bellatrix asked.

He looked at Lucius and said, "We're _cousins_ , get your act straight."

"Oh. Oh, right."

"Well," Bellatrix continued loudly, "The pleasure's all mine. Have you met my sister?" Bellatrix asked, patting Narcissa on the head. Lucius nodded, "Bright young lady. Quite lovely, too, though she could lose a few pounds." Narcissa didn't, not really, but she couldn't help but feel annoyed. She said nothing about it though.

"And this is why Narcissa will never go out with you," Severus said dryly, "I thought pure-bloods came with a complete set of manners."

"You think too highly."

"So," Regulus said, breaking the silence that settled, "Everyone else is heading to their classes. We'll have nothing to do until the afternoon. What will you all be doing until then?"

"I'll be sleeping." Bellatrix said, "I'm really, really tired and I do not want to face the day at all."

"I'm not surprised." Aside from hexes and intricate spells, Bellatrix was also a master at procrastination. Her sister was only capable of being responsible for... perhaps 25% of the time. "I'll be in the common room if anyone needs me. I'm going to read about my electives."

"I'm going to explore the castle." Lucius looped his arm around Severus', "And you're coming with me."

"What? Why?" Severus asked. Lucius raised an eyebrow, "You have something better to do, then?"

"Well, no... not really." He sighed, "Fine, I'm going with you."

Bellatrix turned to the youngest of their group and asked, "What about you, Reg? Any plans?"

"No," he shook his head, "I'll be in the library though, probably until the afternoon."

The school bells rang, indicating the start of first period. The five students out of time looked at each other and left the hall one by one.

\- . -

Narcissa entered the dorm, found the bed that was hers, and flopped face first, abandoning whatever grace she had. It had been a weird few hours. Though she tried not to, she kept thinking of her own time period. It was nice here, sure. The new generation of Slytherins weren't that different from their predecessors. But that's what made it all the more painful. She wanted to talk to her friends but all she saw around her were the students who were possibly their sons and daughters.

At least she still had one of her sisters. At least.

She sighed and got up. She opened up the trunk at the foot of her bed. It had all the books she needed for her electives and an empty bag for her to use was at the bottom. All provided by Professor Dumbledore. Maybe he wasn't as awful as her mother made him out to be.

From the trunk, she retrieved Unfogging the Future. She briefly wondered how the headmaster knew what electives they decided to take when she remembered that this was the future and that student records existed.

Her mother was very against divination, saying it wasn't a very helpful branch of magic. Narcissa agreed but still wished to take the class. She wanted to understand it. She had no talent in it but... well.

The first few pages talked about Tessomancy. Reading tea leaves. _H_ _m. Well, if Andy were here, I could ask her for some tea, she seems to have an endless supply._ And again, she mentally berated herself for thinking about the sister that wasn't here. Longing sparked in her heart again.

"You need to get a grip." she said aloud and went back to reading. The book gave meanings to the symbols one might see in their tea leaves. An acorn meant windfall and/or gold. A club means the person will be attacked soon. The cross meant suffering - _If I had tea, I'd certainly see that_. The book also mentioned that multiple shapes could be seen in tea leaves, like a combination of falcon - a deadly enemy - and the grim - basically the symbol of death, that was something Narcissa knew beforehand.

An hour later, Narcissa progressed to palmistry. A lot of the terms flew over her head and she couldn't help but wish for her first Divination class. By the time she stopped reading, it was lunchtime. She hoped to see the others in the Great Hall, but when she arrived she saw no sign of them. At first she thought she saw Bellatrix but it ended up being some other redheaded Gryffindor. _Maybe she overslept? She did say she was going to sleep._

Unlike earlier in breakfast, the hall was nearly full. Narcissa sat by the end of Slytherin table, farthest from the front of the hall were the teachers sat. Again she looked around the table. No Severus, Regulus, or Lucius. Odd - if there was anything Lucius held as high as his looks, it was food, and she knows him long enough to know that he would never skip food. Unless he was sick because then he wouldn't want to eat at all, but last time she checked, Lucius was in perfect condition. How he's not fat is beyond her.

Narcissa helped herself to some stew. She listened to the chatter of students as she ate. She picked up bits of conversation. Someone froze some corridor, someone blew up a cauldron during Potions, someone was given a death omen...

"Wait, what's this about a death omen?" she asked loudly. The girl sitting beside her whispered, "Not so loudly," and added, "We were reading tea leaves earlier in divination and Professor Trelawney said that Harry Potter-" she looked behind her at the Gryffindor table, Narcissa followed her gaze to a black haired boy. A lanky boy with hair like it hadn't been brushed in years. _Yes,_ she thought, _definitely a Potter._ "-had the grim in his cup."

The grim. Death. The girl kept on talking, "It was quite a shock - but not everyone is convinced. Professor McGonagall apparently said that Professor Trelawney predicts deaths every year. I heard from my brother that she predicted the death of this one Hufflepuff but he's still alive." She pointed out a brown haired Hufflepuff, perhaps a fifth or sixth year, laughing with his friends.

After lunch, Narcissa met Daphne while she was on her way to the common room to get the books she needed for that afternoon's class. Conveniently, Daphne was headed to the same class and offered to walk with Narcissa and she felt a little less alone.

Care of Magical Creatures will take place in 'Professor Hagrid's Hut at the edge of the Forbidden Forest', according to the class schedules. Narcissa listened as Daphne made remarks and dropped information about the surroundings, including rules such as 'don't enter the Forbidden Forest', things Narcissa already knew but Daphne thought she didn't.

Hagrid stood outside the door of his hut, waiting for the whole class. Narcissa had felt appalled when she learned who taught the class. Why did Dumbledore choose some half-blood - in more sense than one - as the professor?

Then she felt shame well up inside her. Severus was a half-blood, too, and she had no problem with him.

"C'mon, now!" He called, his voice booming. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comon' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

Hagrid led the class to a fenced clearing by the edge of the trees. Narcissa, a little on the short side as she was, stood near the front.

"Make sure yeh can see - now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is to open yer books-"

Narcissa reached into her bag and pulled out the book required for class. It was bound with rope when she picked it up, with a note saying 'If you wish to keep your hands, it would be in your best interest to not unbind this'.

"How?" Narcissa asked in sync with another boy. Her head turned to look at him. Pale blonde hair and an all-too-familiar haughty expression - he must be Lucius' son. Narcissa squinted. The boy caught her staring and sneered. _Yes, definitely Lucius' son._

"Eh?"

"How do we open our books?" The boy, definitely Malfoy, repeated. He took out his copy of the book. Like Narcissa's, his book was bound shut. The others took theirs out as well, all copies sealed with tape, rope, bags, belts...

"Hasn' - hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?"

The class shook their heads.

"Yeh've got ter stroke them. Look-" as an example, he took the book of a bushy haired Gryffindor girl and removed its bindings. Narcissa watched in fascination as the book mimicked a monster opening its jaws to bite, even more fascinated when the half-giant stroked it spine, making it turn placid and unmoving like a normal book should be. It was only then that Narcissa understood the note left on her book.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Malfoy sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I - I thought they were funny," Narcissa could hear the uncertainty loud and clear. It was jarring to the eagerness and confidence she heard earlier when the half-giant lef them to the edge of the woods. She felt a bit bad for him.

Narcissa saw Malfoy start to open his mouth again. Without thinking, she said, "I found it funny." She saw the majority of the class gawk at her. She added, "I thought the squirmy, weird-looking book was funny."

Malfoy glared, "Did I ask for your opinion?"

Narcissa raised an eyebrow, "No, but we didn't ask for yours either." She felt a nudge to her side. Daphne was giving her a look that clearly said _shut it_. She had seen it countless times before on her sisters' faces when they got fed up with her spouting random facts due to boredom.

"Righ', well-" the half-giant murmured, breaking the icy silence that had settled. "So - yeh've got yer books an' - an' - now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get em'... Hang on..."

He walked into the forest. Once he was out of sight and hearing range, Malfoy said coldly, "You. Transfer student. Who do you think you are? What right do you have to talk back?"

Narcissa squared her shoulders, glaring right back at him. Thanks to having Bellatrix - paranoid Bella who points her wand at everyone who surprises her - as an older sister, a brat who stood four inches taller than her was not at all frightening. "I am Natalie Larson," she stopped herself before she could say 'Narcissa Black', "Who do _you_ think you are? You didn't have to be such a git. He's the professor, at least show some respect."

Malfoy scoffed, "And that's the thing. I can't believe they made that half-breed oaf a professor. When my father hears about this-"

"Shut up, Malfoy," A bespectacled boy with glasses, who Narcissa recognized as Harry Potter, said.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you-" the boys snickered.

Suddenly, a girl cooed, pointing towards the paddock, and Narcissa momentarily forgot her annoyance with Lucius' spawn. In the most simplest terms, the creatures were half horse and half birds. Hippogriffs. Narcissa had seen them multiple times before but every time she saw them, she always felt as if it was the first time.

The hippogriffs seemed to lift Hagrid's spirits. Narcissa only listened partially, already having learned about hippogriffs from Andy when she was younger. Andy had a phase when she was obsessed with all magical creatures. Except Kreacher Aunt Walburga's house elf. Andy hated him. She and Sirius bonded over their dislike for the thing.

The rest of the hour almost went off without a hitch. Almost-

Harry Potter was the first to get to touch one of the hippogriffs - of course, before he got to that point, he had to bow to the creature. The hippogriff bowed back after a long pause, allowing Potter to pat - it? him? - and even allowing him to ride on his back. She's only seen that a few times in her life. This encouraged the rest of the students to approach the other hippogriffs.

Narcissa was about to bow down to an inky black hippogriff when she heard her fake name being called. She backed away, looked around, and saw Daphne waving her over, a worried look on her face. Narcissa approached her, stopping halfway upon seeing Malfoy along with two larger boys - _Crabbe and Goyle_ , their features practically screamed - smiling menacingly at her.

"Daphne? What's this about?" Narcissa asked, though she had a good idea exactly what this was about. Daphne looked apologetic, as if she just sent Narcissa off to the gallows, "Please don't sound so betrayed, Natalie," the girl pleaded, "Draco just wants to meet you."

"Oh, I'm honored," Narcissa said dryly, "Though I simply can't imagine why."

As a response, Malfoy bowed, grandly and as is taught to all children of the noble households, yet with a stiffness in his movements that Lucius did not have. "Have I forever gotten on your bad side?" he asked with a smile.

Narcissa gave him an unimpressed stare. "Yes."

"I'm simply curious about the little witch who thought she could talk back without any consequences." Malfoy continued in a low voice, not strong enough for anyone else to hear, and definitely not when the others and the professor were occupied with the hippogriffs. "Once my father hears about your disrespect-" Narcissa scoffed, Malfoy ignored it and continued, "-to the Malfoy heir, you'll be done and out. Expelled. Sent back to France."

"What a nice threat," Narcissa hummed. Malfoy stared her down, "It's a promise."

Narcissa blinked.

As if he hadn't just threatened - promised - her with expulsion, Malfoy said in a slightly louder, cheerier voice, "Why don't you accompany me, madame?"

Malfoy led Narcissa towards a particularly stormy grey hippogriff, one that Narcissa recognized as the hippogriff the professor called 'Buckbeak'. Malfoy bowed - Narcissa's lips quirked, Lucius had told her that Malfoys bowed down to no one, wouldn't he like to hear about that? - and Narcissa followed suit. The hippogriff bowed back and allowed Malfoy to pat his beak. If it were Andy here, she would be ecstatic and not disdainful, unlike Malfoy who was frowning, because she may not be as obsessed as she had been when she was twelve, Andy still loved creatures.

"This is very easy," Malfoy drawled, cutting off Narcissa's train of thought, much to her annoyance. "I knew it must have been, of Potter could do it... I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you? Are you, you great ugly brute?"

-And what followed is why the class only _almost_ went off without problems, for suddenly Narcissa caught sight of sharp talons and, without thinking, shoved Malfoy out of the way. From behind her, she heard a collective gasp and someone screamed - and a minute later, she registered the _pain_ and the blood seeping through her robes as she clutched her bloody arm close to her chest.

\- **intermission iii** -

"Rosier!"

Evan stopped in his tracks to look at who called him. He immediately regretted his decision as he saw 1/4 of the bane of every Slytherin's existence running towards him. He was drawing attention to himself and Evan, too. "What do you want?" Evan hissed.

"Relax," Sirius Black said, putting his hands in the air in some gesture Evan vaguely recognized as surrender, "I'm not here to hex you this time. I just want you to answer a couple of questions."

"I don't have time for this, Black," he tried moving past the older boy but Black hurriedly ran to block his path. A minute later, two boys joined him in blocking the corridor heading to the classroom where Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught. This proved to be an inconvenience to more than just Evan, of course, but no one seemed inclined to tell the group of stupid Gryffindors off, much more preferring to watch the second year Slytherin suffer. They just stood there, watching in amusement - though some looked apprehensive and confused. Evan scowled. "I'm serious!"

To that, Black and one of the boys - by the head of unruly black hair, Evan recognized him to be Potter - laughed while the brown haired boy simply looked tired. "No, _I'm_ Sirius," said Black, grinning. Evan internally groaned. No wonder Regulus could go on and on ranting about his stupid, lame, exasperating brother. They were talking for less than five minutes and he already wanted to bash his head against the wall.

"All I want to do is talk," Black said once he stopped laughing. "Just answer my questions and you can go. If you don't, well, I'll keep pestering you until you talk to me."

"He can be really persistent," the brown haired boy added unhelpfully. Black nodded, "And if you agree to keep helping, I swear not to prank you for the next three months."

Ugh. "Make it six months and you have yourself a deal."

Black grinned. "Alright, deal. So Andromeda - do you know her? My cousin, a prettier, saner version of Bellatrix, fifth year and a prefect-"

"Yes, of course I know her, in case you forgot she's my _cousin_ , too."

Black ignored his commentary and continued talking, "-she informed me that dearest little Reggiekins - you know, your roommate - went missing along with Narcissa, Bella, Malfoy, and Snivellus. I want to know what you know about their disappearance."

Evan raised an eyebrow, "You do know that the investigation department is already on the case, right? There's no need for you to stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

"That's the same thing Andy said," Black said, "Just make things easier for everyone and tell me what you know."

"I don't know much," Evan admitted. "All I know is that we woke up at an unholy hour to see the common room look like a desert." Judging by the crestfallen expression that set itself on Black's face, he already knew that bit. So Evan reached into his robes and pulled out a tube from his pocket, filled to the brim with golden sand. He handed it over to Black whose dejected expression quickly faded to curiosity. "If you insist on meddling and doing your own investigation, you can have this."

"What is it?" Potter asked.

"I said the common room looked like a desert, didn't I? I procured a sample of the sand. Maybe it'll be useful to you somehow."

Professor Slughorn didn't immediately allow the common room to be cleaned, fearing that there may be some clue to the whereabouts of the missing students buried somewhere in the golden sand, allowing Evan ample of time to collect a few samples. He wasn't even sure why he did so - the sand just looked eerily familiar and it gave off an aura. It was magical - Evan just couldn't figure out _why_ it was. He suspected it had something to do with Regulus and the others' disappearance, but he kept that bit to himself.

"Can I leave now? I have a class to go to and you do, too, in case you weren't aware." Evan asked when Black made no move to step aside. This seemed to startle Black out of his thoughts and he stepped aside, his two friends doing the same. The students that crowded them then forgot why they were crowding them in the first place and moved on with their previous tasks. Evan rolled his eyes and, with one last look at Black, Potter and the brown haired boy - he still can't recall his name. Romulus, or something - headed down the corridor to DADA class. He hoped he wasn't late. Professor Bailey was particularly harsh to latecomers.

\- . -

 **A/N:** I wrote ten different versions of this chapter. Ten. And though I am not at all satisfied with how this chapter turned out, I'm giving it to y'all anyway, because we'll be stuck here forever if I don't. And also exams were last week so I was busy. Sorry, yikes.

Thanks to the reviews and all I can say is I am glad it seems y'all are enjoying this so far. I really won't say much here, it'll give the future chapters' contents away, so yeah. Until next time.


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